APPERT: 'WE NEED TO SET A TONE FOR WHAT WE STAND FOR AS AN ORGANIZATION'
Oct 4, 2022By Suzie Cool
Rochester Americans Training Camp has officially kicked off at The Blue Cross Arena this week, which features a roster of 32 players that Amerks head coach Seth Appert will be closely evaluating over the next several days. That roster currently consists of 21 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders and will continue to fluctuate throughout camp leading up to Opening Night on Friday, Oct. 14.
However, no matter how much the roster might change from now until the start of the Amerks 2022-23 campaign, Appert knows that talent isn’t going to be an issue throughout the entirety of the organization.
“Talent is not going to be an issue for us. We have plenty of talent,” started Appert when asked what the fans can be excited about when looking at the possible product on the ice. “We're really young. I mean, we were young last year and we’re going to be younger this year. We're going to have five or six rookie forwards, four of which will be 18 or 19 years old.”
Appert then continued with, “There's a lot of growing pains, there's a lot of adversity, there's a lot of struggles and all of our young guys are going to go through some of those things too, but it's our job to help guide them through that and to make sure they're getting better every day so that their talent gets to shine.”
While the current roster is very young and features 10 camp invitees and 10 rookies, it also includes 15 players that appeared in at least one game with the Amerks during the 2021-22 campaign. A season that most certainly set the tone for what the returning players want to get out of this year and more.
And what does Appert want to do at camp this week? Set the tone for the upcoming season and what the American Hockey League may entail for the newcomers.
“Set a tone for what we want to stand for as an organization,” commented Appert when asked what he wants to establish in the first week of camp in Rochester. “You’re getting into that time of camp where there needs to be more contact, a little more physicality, intelligently and not. We don't need to kill each other in practice, but you got to start getting used to what the American League can be like.”
Appert finished with, “It’s a battle down here and it's not easy to score. It's not easy to play. You are going to get hit. Guys are fighting for their lives. They are fighting to get to the National Hockey League or to get back to the National Hockey League. So, it's important that we establish that early.”
The remainder of the schedule for the first week of Amerks 2022 Training Camp is as follows (time is subject to change):
Wednesday, Oct. 5
Practice at 11 a.m. – Blue Cross Arena
Thursday, Oct. 6
Practice at 11 a.m. – Blue Cross Arena
Friday, Oct. 7
Practice at 11 a.m. – Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex
Saturday, Oct. 8
Morning skate at 10:20 a.m. – Blue Cross Arena
Preseason Game at Syracuse at 5 p.m. – Upstate Medical University Arena
Sunday, Oct. 9
Preseason Game vs. Utica at 5 p.m. – Blue Cross Arena
Rochester opens its 67th American Hockey League season – and 41st as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres – on Friday, Oct. 14 at The Blue Cross Arena against the Toronto Marlies. Amerks Season Ticket Memberships for the 2022-23 season are on sale now. Season Ticket Memberships start as low as $15 per game and come with a number of Members-only perks and benefits. Full Season, Half Season and Quarter Season Membership options are all available. For more information on Amerks Season Tickets or to sign up today, visit www.amerks.com/memberships.